One of the things that keeps many of us coming back to the events is the sense of community we feel on site. To that end, many of our Combustizans are tightly connected to one another and rely on this sense of family when things in our non-burn world go awry. No matter how idyllic our time in our temporary autonomous zone may be, the real world has its way of invading – things like house fires, cancer, rainstorms washing away our roofs, and so many more things happen. The nature of the “family” we’ve created means we are able to band together to help each other out when these things happen.

The bummer is that not every Combustizan knows many people, or has a network to get the help in those times that they may need, and because the IPA believes that – in the words of that super commercial movie that you all know and love (even if you don’t want to admit it) – “ohana means family. And family means no one gets left behind or forgotten,” we are offering to be a point of contact for those family members we don’t know as well.

What does that mean? Maybe someone needs to organize meal delivery after a surgery or catastrophic family event. Maybe a community member needs a signal boost for a fundraiser to replace all the things that were lost in a disaster. Maybe they just need some people to come help with the housework while they take care of a family member. We aren’t telling you WHAT it is you need, but if you need something, let us know – and maybe we can help out somehow. We can’t make any promises, but we can try to help each other in a meaningful way.

If we are going to call ourselves a community and a family, let’s act like one. Let’s turn our words into action, and help each other out.

Those in need (or if you know of someone in need) can contact [email protected] to get the ball rolling.